Gun grips

[Boomstick Bruce]

So my fiance and I bought a house about a year ago. It had these huge, beautiful yew bushes on the corners that were planted when the house was build back in 75 making them older than me. I really liked them, she hated them. We argued for a year about cutting then down and today I finally caved. I saved some of the wood from them to make grips out of for my pair of 58 Remingtons. I searched all over Al Gore's amazing internet and can't find anything about making grips from yew wood. Has anyone here made grips from yew wood?

 

 

 

[Doc Shapiro]

Not from yew, but other exotic woods.  You might as well cut some planks of 1 1/2 inches thick and set 'em to dry, preferably under cover.  Give it about 5 years.  Then make the grips.  Otherwise they're going to split or warp as the wood dries. 

 

Wood isn't stable.  It changes moisture content with humidity and the season.  But it needs to dry out before turning into grips.

[Tequila Shooter]

Warden Calaway had a post back in December about making his own grips, I think he has a video.

[Hogleg Hunter]

Some woods have to be or can be "stabilized" by infusing them with Resin using a vacuum chamber. Oily, dense woods don't stabilize well. Dry woods with large pores work best.

 

When drying wood paint the end grain to keep it from splitting. If not it will split from the end.

 

I periodically make duck calls. Always figured one year per inch of thickness.

 

Not an expert at this so Google should be your friend. I will say that wood turning and woodworking is addicting so be prepared.

 

Hogleg

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

Now see, Bruce, if you would'a caved to her in the beginning it would already be aged a year by now.  

[Tom Bullweed]

Yew is soft and long-grained.  Known for making bows.

I would want denser wood for grips, but a very nice gun cart might a possibility, if the planks are wide enough.